The Melody Of Autumn
by Okami Endless
Summary: Leaf-bare has come and gone. But within their own clans, they are being shattered and broken, cats are being killed, and the unexpected is happening. No-one knows what is happening, but half of the cats in their own clans have secrets of their own to keep track of. The chilling cold that has left them may have just left a living nightmare of broken laws...and uncovered secrets...
1. Allegiances

** Hello! It's 13 Okami Kitsune here (formerly xX Wolf Shadow Xx and Broken Wolf ' Soul Spirit)! I've been writing this story for a while, and so, here's the allegiances with something at the bottom so I don't get haters for not having a story…**

**ShadowClan **

**Leader:** Ashstar – Gray tom with darker splotches covering his back and dark blue eyes

**Deputy:** Flameshadow- Ginger tom with faint golden and brown fur and kind green eyes

**Medicine Cat:** Southleaf- Light tortoiseshell she-cat with rusty amber eyes

**Medicine Cat Apprentice: **(None yet)

** Warriors:**

Foxfang – Dark ginger tom with a black stripe going down his back and black-ginger mixed long fluffy tail

Mistcloud – Beautiful white and light brown dappled she-cat with forest-green eyes

Spottedcloud – Pretty white she-cat with cream markings and fierce blue eyes with a nicked left ear

Darkflight – Small black tom with bright yellow eyes

Shadestorm – Pale light gray tom with darker gray and white tabby markings and stormy blue eyes

Raventail – Black tom with glowing yellow eyes and a small tail

Robinfeather – Bright red she-cat with dark blue eyes and a long scar going from her shoulder down to her tail

** Apprentices:**

Fernpaw – Pretty long-furred white and orange dappled she-cat with gray-blue eyes (Mentor: Foxfang)

Jackalpaw – Slender light brown tabby tom with darker black markings and stormy amber eyes (Mentor: Spottedcloud)

Reedpaw – Fluffy blue-silver she-cat with a white muzzle, chest, and paws with pale blue eyes (Mentor: Shadestorm)

Blackpaw – Black-furred she-cat with blue eyes (Mentor: Darkflight)

** Queens: **

Brookwillow – Gray and dark gray patched she-cat with black 'socked' paws and deep amber eyes (Mother of Hollowkit, Patchkit, Dewkit, and Redkit) (Father: Foxfang)

** Kits:**

Hollowkit – Brown tom with darker markings and black 'socked' paws and a white spot over his eye and back with bright amber-scarlet eyes

Patchkit – White she-cat with very faint black tabby markings on her tail, head, and paws with pale amber eyes

Dewkit – Pale gray-blue she-cat with darker patches and white paws and tail with white specks on her haunches and bright tear-blue eyes

Redkit – Black and red patched tom with sky-blue eyes

** ThunderClan**

**Leader:** Brackenstar – Brown tom with lighter chest and belly with dark amber eyes

**Deputy:** Tawnyheart – White, black, and ginger tortoiseshell she-cat with pale green eyes

**Medicine Cat:** Firstleaf – Silver-gray she-cat with bright amber eyes

**Medicine Cat Apprentice:** Jaypaw – White she-cat with black tabby markings and blue eyes

** Warriors:**

Lilypool – Sandy-ginger colored she-cat with dark brown paws, ears, and faint tabby markings on her tail, legs, and head and blue eyes

Sparrowtail – Brown tabby tom with white paws and bright green eyes

Talonfoot – Long-legged black tom with a brown belly and amber eyes

Duskfire – Light ginger and dark brown spotted white tom with green eyes

Stormfire – Red, black, and white tortoiseshell tom with blue eyes (Unable to have kits)

Echofall – Tortoiseshell she-cat with fluffy fur and deep blue eyes

Serpenttail – Silver-furred tabby she-cat with darker stripes and white paws and a blazed chest with bright amber eyes

** Apprentices:**

Jaypaw –White she-cat with black tabby markings and blue eyes

Fallowpaw – Silver tom with a dark nose and long tail with amber eyes

Ivypaw – Pale silver and white tabby she-cat with darker gray paws and tail-tip with dark blue eyes

** Queens:**

Rushheart – Red tabby she-cat with bright amber eyes and a fluffy tail (Expecting) (Mate: Duskfire)

** Kits:**

None

** Elders:**

Lakefur – Mottled gray tom with a lighter ringed tail and pale blue blind-looking eyes

Poolheart – Dark gray she-cat with a light silver ringed tail and wide light blue eyes, named 'pool' for how her blue eyes looked like the shining Moonpool

** RiverClan**

**Leader:** Troutstar – Long-furred silver tabby she-cat with long whiskers and amber eyes

**Deputy:** Lilacfern – Brown-red she-cat with deep green eyes

**Medicine Cat:** Willowfang – White she-cat with bright blue eyes

**Medicine Cat Apprentice:** Featherpaw – Small silver tabby she-cat with blue eyes

** Warriors:**

Drizzlefall – White, black, and ginger patched tom with dark blue eyes

Riverfall – White tom with faint ginger-orange patches and blue eyes

Snowleap – White she-cat with green eyes

Cricketsong – Light gray-blue she-cat with a white chest and paws with pale green eyes

Thistlepelt – Brown tom with darker markings and green eyes

Thornfoot – Bright ginger tom with one front white paw and one dark brown paw and amber eyes

Salmonfire – White tom with gray and ginger stripes going down his back and tail with gray paws and gray-blue eyes

Pinefur – Silver she-cat with darker paws and muzzle with a white tail-tip and dark green eyes

Stormcloud – Gray tom with darker paws and chest with a white tail-tip and dark green eyes

** Apprentices:**

Stonepaw – Dark gray tabby tom with a stripe going down his back and amber eyes

Streampaw – Gray tabby she-cat with a white chest, belly, and under-tail with amber eyes

** Queens:**

Flowercatcher – Pretty white she-cat with black paws and nose with blue eyes (Expecting) (Mate: Salmonfire)

Brokenfoot – Dark gray she-cat with a twisted paw that is thought to not be fixable with dark amber eyes (Mother of Dovekit and Brightkit) (Mate: Thistlepelt)

** Kits:**

Dovekit – White and gray tabby she-cat with a white ear and amber eyes

Brightkit – Light brown she-cat with a white chest and belly and dark green eyes

** WindClan**

** Leader: **Rabbitstar – Dusty-brown tom with a ginger tail-tip and amber eyes

**Deputy: **Duststorm – Dusty-brown tom with a light brown stripe going down his back and bright green eyes

**Medicine Cat: **Northleaf – Light ginger she-cat with one white paw and blue eyes

**Warriors:**

Sandtail – White she-cat with a ginger tail-tip and green eyes

Onyxstep – Black tom with a white tail-tip and dark green eyes

Branchtail – Brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Mousepelt – Gray she-cat with one white paw and bright green eyes

Meadowleaf – White she-cat with two ginger paws and one black paw and tail-tip with bright blue eyes

Fawnblossom – Black she-cat with white speckles on her flank and white paws with one white ear and amber eyes

Owlshadow – Black tom with blue eyes

Eagleshadow – Pale-gray tom with white patches and blue eyes

**Apprentices:**

Beechpaw – Light brown she-cat with darker ears and chest with fluffy fur and blue eyes

Ivorypaw – Black she-cat with dark green eyes

Dapplepaw – White she-cat with black, silver, and gray spots on her pelt and a black tail-tip with sea-blue eyes

**Queens:**

None

**Elders:**

Gustfur – Long-furred dark brown tabby tom with blue eyes

Breezeshadow – Dark-furred tabby she-cat with amber eyes

**And another few paragraphs that have nothing to do with the story which you can read if you want (SPOILERS FOR THE LAST HOPE!) or not:**

Jayfeather was walking through the forest, sniffing the air. He was looking for herbs, using it as an excuse to get away from all the drama. Lionblaze's and Cinderheart's kits had been born, and the golden tom had practically made Jayfeather deaf from how loud his brother was whining about whether or not Cinderheart was going to die.

He sighed.

Bramblestar had forgiven Squirrelflight, and now they were running the clan well. Brairlight was still doing her exercises, and Blossomfall regularly visited her.

Dustpelt was heartbroken at the loss of his mate, but was glad that her killer was gone and Tigerstar was killed. Now his kits were keeping his hopes up, including the clans while the newer warriors tried their best to make the most out of it.

But now, the only problem was that he had to take on an apprentice because somehow, one of Cinderheart's kits liked the job of a medicine cat. He was grumpy around apprentices and kits since they always tried to mess with his things – but to actually let one in his den and teach it! StarClan! He might as well just throw his whole life away and let Leafpool do his job! Whenever he went back to camp, the kit would follow him around all the time! Everywhere! It was annoying him so much that when he ordered the kit to go give moss to the elders and make sure the queens had food to get it away from him, it had come back in less than the time he could take a full nap!

He was going to have an apprentice…StarClan why?


	2. Betrayal, Love, Death

"Blackkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Blackpaw. Your mentor will be Darkflight. I hope Darkflight will pass down all he knows to you.

"Darkflight, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Mistcloud, and you have shown yourself to be loyal and thoughtful. You will be the mentor of Blackpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Blackpaw."

Blackpaw, a black-furred and blue eyed she-cat bent forward and touched noses gently with her newly named mentor, Darkflight.

"Blackpaw, Blackpaw, Blackpaw!" The clan chanted the small she-cats name.

"Also, I have another announcement. Ravenpaw and Robinpaw, please step forward." The Clan Leader announced. The two senior apprentices stepped forward in the same moment, their black and red pelts glowing in the sunlight. "I, Ashstar, leader of ShadowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I comment him to you as a warrior in his turn."

Ashstar's dark blue eyes looked down into Ravenpaw's yellow, locking in on them.

"Ravenpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Ravenpaw nodded solemnly. "I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Ravenpaw, from this moment you will be known as Raventail. StarClan honors your determination and bravery, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ShadowClan."

Raventail walked forward and licked Ashstar's shoulder as the gray tom with darker splotches of gray rested his muzzle on Raventail's head for a moment. Raventail gave a short nod, and backed away next to his sister.

Ashstar gave a low sigh. "I, Ashstar, leader of ShadowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble cod, and I comment her to you as a warrior in her turn."

"Robinpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I-I do!" Robinpaw squeaked a bit too loudly, then noticed her mistake and her tail drooped lower. Ashstar smiled at the apprentice and her slight shyness. Robinpaw looked up into her leader's eyes, holding the gaze proudly.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Robinpaw, from this moment you will be known as Robinfeather. StarClan honors your kindness and spirit, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ShadowClan."

Just as Raventail did, Robinfeather bounded up to Ashstar, excitement in her eyes, and licked Ashstar's shoulder. Ashstar put her muzzle on Robinfeather's head, just as he had done Raventail, but then added in a whisper,

"Don't worry Robinfeather, just enjoy the ceremony."

Robinfeather let a hum of a purr escape her throat and stepped back, her eyes meeting with the gray tom's once more before she turned and padded back to Raventail's side. They both purred out their new names as the clan chanted out both their names.

"Raventail! Robinfeather! Raventail! Robinfeather!"

xXxXx0o

"Jackalpaw! Are you there?"

Jackalpaw, a slender light brown tabby tom with darker black markings and stormy amber eyes, poked his head up from the cover of a prickly bush. His eyes searched the face, seeing light blue eyes and a white she-cat with black tabby markings, and matched it to the familiar voice. He let out a purr, padding forward and touching noses with the she-cat, licking her cheek softly.

"I'm glad to see you Jaypaw! I thought you had gotten caught – you were so late!" Jackalpaw said worriedly, his eyes showing a deep concern for the she-cat, Jaypaw. "Are you sure no one followed you?"

Jaypaw pulled away from him, lifting her head up and gazing into his eyes. Her sweet scent filled his nose, but ThunderClan's still layed there. She was the medicine cat apprentice of ThunderClan, and he was an apprentice of ShadowClan that was only half a moon away from being a warrior.

"No one followed me, but I'm worried, Jackalpaw…Firstleaf is getting suspicious of me leaving all the time and I'm afraid that she's going to see us one of these days."

Jackalpaw, seeing the hesitation and doubt in her eyes, rushed forward and pressed his pelt against hers, trying to comfort her as he put his head on top of hers. She waited, not exactly knowing what to do. She was deeply in love with Jackalpaw, but she couldn't bear to see him killed because her mentor found out. Yet, she knew that she was a medicine cat, and they weren't supposed to even have a mate from their own clan, but yet she was a medicine cat and falling for a tom from another clan. She sighed and pressed her muzzle into his chest fur, closing her eyes calmly.

"Don't worry Jaypaw, I promise to protect you." Jackalpaw whispered in her ear softly.

She breathed in slowly, taking in his lovely scent again. "Jackalpaw…"

"Yes?"

Jackalpaw pulled his head back a notch and then touched noses with the smaller she-cat, smiling. Jaypaw's ears that were down pricked up, and a small smile touched her lips at the presence of him.

"When we get our new names…You for a warrior and me for a medicine cat, ask me about what I'm saying right now. I-I'm not sure of it quite yet, but I'll be sure by the next moon, so you can ask me then, okay?"

Jackalpaw nodded, confused at her question, but decided to follow her anyways. She was his, and he would be a warrior by the next moon anyways, and she would have her full medicine cat name, he knew. They were old enough, but she was only a quarter of a moon younger than him, but he knew that she had an natural instinct with which herbs to use so she would get her full name earlier than most. It would be perfect timing for whatever she wanted to tell him.

She lifted her head up. "One more thing, Jackalpaw…"

Jackalpaw waved his tail in a gesture for her to continue, his stormy amber eyes seeming to glow in the dark forest beneath the night sky and moon.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Jaypaw."

xXxXx0o

Blackpaw slowly crept forward, using her black pelt to her advantage. She could blend in with the shadows, almost unseen, and it was a valued trait in ShadowClan. Her clan took great pride in being sneaky and able to seem like they were able to jump out of a rock even though they just lay unmoving in its shadow and moved when it was time. She blinked her blue eyes, putting one small paw in front of another.

Darkflight, her mentor, was watching her. He was testing her, and she knew that he was the most strategizing cat in the clan. He could make up a plan for his own clan, and he could guess with amazing accuracy at what his enemies were going to do, which allowed him to get the virtue of thoughtfulness. If she guessed right, then he knew where she was by how he used his mind to think out a plan, and put that together with how he guessed her mind worked, and think up the plan of strategy that she was using against him. Of course, since he was more skilled than a usual warrior, he would most likely figure out where she was in the shadows, but would only use the skills of a normal warrior, but in the back of his mind still actually know where she was. At first, she was confused at when she explained this beforehand, but when he said, 'I will act like a normal warrior and not use my skills so that you have a fair opportunity' she nodded her head in understanding before he ushered her off into the forest.

Now, they were having a test to see if she could use her black pelt and everything she already knew without any training to sneak up on him.

She was close to him now, as she could see him through a few low-hanging branches of some trees. With her target in sight, she plotted. She could keep to the shadows like she had been doing, and then try to maneuver until she was to the side of him and strike, or she could try to leap up into the trees and stick to the thicker pine-needled branches to hide her pelt and try to stay near the trunks until she was nearly above him and leap down on him like the ThunderClan cats did. Although, since it was just the beginning of dawn, the squirrels would be searching for their food and wouldn't be in areas where a threat was – being her and Darkflight since they sometimes hunted them. If the tree branch shook, Darkflight would know it was her and she would fail.

She shook her head in disappointment. She would have to go with the first option, but even if she had an advantage of a black pelt, so did Darkflight, and he had experience. Even if he was using only a normal warrior's techniques of planning, he could use his experience of being in the shadows to guess where she was without even using his skills. It was risky, but it would have to do. Later, she supposed, Darkflight could teach her how to move in the shadows and plan out a strategy.

She began to stalk forward as if she were a mouse-brained ThunderClan cat, using their hunting crouch and crawling forward with her belly on the ground. She pulled herself into the shadows, and then moved onto the next shadow of a pine tree and then the next. Her tail flicked once, and Darkflight's eyes darted over. She almost gasped, but then caught herself.

She darted forward to the last shadow before she would be close enough to get to the small black tom with yellow eyes. She took a small breath, making sure that he hadn't seen her, and sniffed the air. Only a mouse was around, off to her right a few long paces away. She smiled slightly, and then lowered her tail to the ground and crept forward, crouched down, and out of the shadow. Darkflight hadn't moved yet, which was good.

As fast as a fleeing rabbit, she dashed in and pounced onto the yellow-eyed tom. She landed on his back, but he was ready for it. He, instead of trying to throw her off or rolling, quickly thought up a plan and played it. Blackpaw was surprised for a moment as he didn't move an pawstep, but had the breath knocked out of her when Darkflight took her weight to his advantage and flipped over, his back hitting down and squashing her, hard. She squeaked out a small yelp and tried to push him off her but he had already flipped over onto his paws. She stopped, the sudden weight off her, but while he was about to jump and pin her, she rolled underneath him and sent a few blows of sheathed paws to his stomach and then used the force of her back legs and kicked up at his stomach.

She heard him cough at the sudden force pounding his stomach, and then stumbled and winced once. Coughing some more, he let out a hiss, but it was cracked. He had his breath knocked out of him and his stomach feeling like a rock had just impaled him.

Blackpaw got up from underneath him, pausing. Had she injured him? She tiled her ears and lowered her head below her shoulders as if bowing it in uncertainty and shame. She didn't think that it would harm him, after all, she had just gone along with her instinct. She hadn't been taught any moves, so she didn't think that they would work in the first place – but now she was beginning to wonder if Ashstar assigned Darkflight as her mentor for that purpose. She realized now that Darkflight had only actually looked her way once, and that was when she accidentally stepped on a dried up leaf. She had assumed that he knew where she was all of the time, but now that she tried to view it from his eyes, she saw that when she was sneaking up on him from his side, he couldn't see her because that was his one blind spot, just as it was in her eyes. A normal apprentice would have gone in back of him, but she went for his side, and instead of trying to stay on him and claw his fur off his back, she stayed there and waited for a split second in which he used to try to crush her. It had worked, but instead she had slid under him instead of getting up like she assumed even Jackalpaw, the most senior apprentice, would have done.

Blackpaw blinked at her mentor, her head still hunched down. Her tail brushed the ground, sweeping it back and forth slightly, not raised. Her ears were pricked up at any sign of serious injury, but Darkflight hadn't coughed up any teeth or anything, so she hoped that he was fine.

"D-Darkflight…?" Blackpaw asked hesitantly, her eyes shining in concern. "Are you okay? I didn't hurt you or anything, did I?"

A few seconds passed before the dark tom turned her way, raising his head slightly. He coughed one more time, and then flicked his tail to the side as if to dismiss his whole coughing fit that had just happened. She blinked once more, and the black-furred tom grinned at her, his fur flat, completely calm and seeming happy. She had expected him to be angry at him for almost injuring him, and she stared wide-eyed at the bigger cat.

"Your greater than I expected Blackpaw!" Darkflight told her with a cheerful voice. "I've never seen an un-trained apprentice do that before! You stuck to the shadows, not going up into the trees like Reedpaw did with her mentor. When did you learn that you could've alerted me by the branches? And you didn't get back up either! You rolled underneath me and did an excellent move, making up a plan just in that few seconds! Blackpaw – the was a move that even Shadestorm couldn't have thought over in that short amount of time!"

Blackpaw's eyes widened even more, shocked and stunned. She hadn't expected a move like that hadn't been used by an apprentice before – and not even Shadestorm would've thought of it that fast? That's what her instincts told her to do – she just knew that move was the right one to use.

"I-I…I was just following my instincts Darkflight." Blackpaw explained slowly, afraid to say something wrong that might discourage him. "When I was considering going into the trees, I remembered how I had seen the ThunderClan cats leap up into them – but the branches shook when they…Er, did. That happens to squirrels too. I kept low to the ground and to the shadows, combining ThunderClan's hunting crouch with the advantage of my black pelt in the shadows, and I kept my tail low to the ground like Southleaf said you should do when hunting mice. I, er, learned to keep your back side down to your paws and step lightly, too, from ThunderClan when I went out of camp and wandered into their territory and saw them hunting…"

Darkflight blinked. "That's even better than I could've done at your age, Blackpaw. I don't blame you for running out of camp since all kits seem to do that, but to use their techniques from what you saw that long ago is just amazing." Darkflight walked forward and touched his tail to her ear softly in approval as he walked by, and then added, "I want to talk to Ashstar and Flameshadow about this. But, Blackpaw, are you okay if I train you with my own skills and sharpen the ones you already have instead of focusing on everything?"

Blackpaw's whiskers twitched and she sprinted over to him as he got further away and then walked beside him. "I'd love to Darkflight! I-I just didn't think that I was that good…I'm kind of surprised right now…"

Darkflight let out a long _mrrrrrreeeooww_ of laughter and purred.

"You'll have to work extra hard though."

xXxXx0o

"Rosepool!" A sandy-ginger colored she-cat with dark brown paws, ears, and faint tabby markings on her tail, legs, and head cried. "No! No! Rosepool!" The she-cat pushed her muzzle into Rosepool's dark ginger fur and wailed. "R-Rosepool!"

Lilypool collapsed her paws and sunk into her sister's fur, whimpering.

"S-Someone…Please! Help me!" Lilypool yowled out to the sky, the trees of ThunderClan's territory looming above her. "Someone!" She sucked in a shallow breath, her eyes watering and threatening to tear her apart to tears. She couldn't manage to say another word without losing herself.

She looked back down to her sister, the one that she always protected – the one who she always promised that she would be with. She remembered how she had caught her first prey when she was an apprentice and Rosepool had been challenged to go after a squirrel high up in the trees and she had been scared almost to death that she would fall. She remembered how they had stayed up all night together at their warriors vigil and hadn't whispered a word but had stayed at both their posts without a doubt in their minds that they would fail their clan. She remembered little Rosepool, when she was Rosekit, and how they snuck out of camp and had climbed the a big tree and had gotten stuck and Sparrowtail, Sparrowkit at that time, had found them when he had wandered out of camp and went to get help. She remembered seeing Rosepool and how her sister had seemed so happy to finally get an apprentice, and then how Rosepool and her finally became senior warriors and got to discuss things with their leader.

Her eyes widened when she saw the blood falling out of her neck like a rushing river. She knew that it was no accident – they were claw marks. Rosepool, her only sister, had been killed. Then, it hit her.

Rosepool was murdered…

She let out a yowl, and then louder. She yowled and yelled for help, until finally a patrol came over, and froze at the sight of Lilypool's sister.

Lilypool, upon seeing the patrol, let out a whimper, turning back to her sister and burying her muzzle into her flank. The patrol of cats regained themselves and Sparrowtail walked forward, touching his tail to Lilpool's back.

"W-We need to take her back to camp, Lilypool…"

Lilypool lowered her ears and hissed lowly, but felt the need to say, "S-She was murdered – t-the c-cl-claw m-marks on her neck." She didn't look at her sister's neck again, not able to bear the weight that was already ringing down on her. Her sister was dead, and she was murdered by someone.

Duskfire, a light ginger and dark brown spotted white tom with green eyes, and Echofall, a tortoiseshell she-cat with fluffy fur and deep blue eyes, bent their heads down and pressed their muzzles down into their clanmates fur and gently picked Rosepool up. Lilypool let out a wail, lunging forward, but Sparrowtail jumped in and bit down on her scruff, getting a firm grip on the grief-stricken she-cat.

"Rosepool!" Lilypool yowled, her paws feebly scratching the ground as she tried to get out of Sparrowtail's grasp and run after them. Inside the back of Lilypool's mind, the senior warrior knew that she would likely try to claw Duskfire's and Echofall's ears off and not leave her sister's corpse until she died. Sparrowtail knew it too, and so he tried his hardest to not let Lilypool race off after them until they had enough time to get to camp.

"I'm so sorry, Lilypool…I'm so, so sorry."

Sparrowfeather's tail that was held high drooped and fell to the ground, and he let go of Lilypool's scruff sadly. Lilypool started to leap forward, but then glanced back at Sparrowtail and stopped.

"Sparrowtail!" Lilypool barked at the brown tabby with white paws and green eyes. "Follow me! We both just can't leave my sister to go without any goodbye from us!"

xXxXx0o

Jaypaw was walking out to talk to her littermates, Fallowpaw and Ivypaw, when a sad patrol of cats walked in through the entrance. At the sight of a dead clanmate, a senior warrior no less, panic and shouts erupted in the a hollow. Her blue eyes widened and she was gone in a flash, back into the medicine cat den and yowled for Firstleaf.

Firstleaf's silver-gray pelt spiked up slightly at the sight of the dead Rosepool, her bright amber eyes flashing. The patrol had set their clanmate down for her to inspect, and she pushed through the crowd of cats with Jaypaw following.

"How did this happen, Sparrowtail?" Firstleaf demanded the leader of the patrol, eyes looking at the tom. She frowned, changing her gaze and looking down at Rosepool worriedly. She was already dead, but Firstleaf had the job of cleaning up her pelt and scars. What she realized first was the dark ginger she-cat had been dead from at least until dawn, long before the patrol went out. The second was that the slash made at her neck was clearly that of an animal. But the third was the most alarming – there was a faint scent of ShadowClan on her neck where she had been slashed, barely noticeable if it wasn't being looked for. As soon as the ThunderClan medicine cat smelled the flash of ShadowClan scent, she adruptly pulled back with a loud hiss and backed away, bristling. How dare ShadowClan kill her clanmate! But she had to be sure.

She turned to Sparrowtail. "Where did you find her? Near the ShadowClan border?"

Sparrowtail looked to Lilypool hesitantly, thinking that the she-cat could've moved her sister, but he did know that they were almost at the border, only a few thirteen trees away. He swallowed nervously. They wouldn't actually kill one of their cats, would they? ShadowClan was sneaky, and had stolen one of their apprentices before, but to kill a cat…Would a war happen?

"Sparrowtail!" Firstleaf barked impatiently, knowing that if Rosepool was indeed found by the ShadowClan border, it would mean trouble – and that usually wasn't started by ThunderClan, but Firstleaf knew. She knew that ThunderClan's leader, Brackenstar, was young, and would take up that chance to try to take over another clan. He wasn't power-hungry, but inexperienced. It would drive their clan to destruction – they hardly had any warriors!

"Y-Yes." Sparrowtail answered, doubtful. "But they wouldn't actually kil-,"

"We should attack them for killing Rosepool!" One cat yelled, causing the others to speak their minds.

"Yeah! Rosepool should be avenged!"

"Attack! Attack! Attack!" A few cats chanted furiously, anger clouding their eyes.

"Wait!" Sparrowtail growled to the cats of ThunderClan, silencing them. "We don't know if they really did kill Rosepool!" He flicked his tail downwards. "We should wait!" He turned to Firstleaf. "Well?"

Firstleaf shook her head, glancing at her apprentice once. "I have to be truthful here, but there is ShadowClan scent on her…" She flattened her ears down as shouts started again, and then yowled to try to stop the ThunderClan cats. "Brackenstar!" A cat, Serpenttail, called out to the ThunderClan leader, who had yet to appear from his den. When the brown tom with a lighter chest and belly with dark amber eyes walked out, his eyes met Rosepool's dead body and he growled, his whiskers shaking.

"What is it, Firstleaf? Jaypaw?"

"We found Rosepool by the border," Sparrowtail explained for the two medicine cats quickly. "Lilypool was by her body, mourning. We brought her back and Firstleaf says that there's ShadowClan scent on her where her neck was cut, the killing move…We don't know what to do."

Brackenstar's ears went down, the young leader's eyes showing anger. Firstleaf knew what he would say. He was too young – too young! She disagreed with him being picked as leader, he shouldn't have been admitted by StarClan – his deputy Tawnyheart was a greater choice! Firstleaf looked around hurriedly. Yes! Tawnyheart would change her leaders choice!

"Well, I think we have enough evidence," Brackenstar's growl grew louder. "So we attack ShadowClan and show them they can't mess with our warriors!"

Firstleaf gasped, her tail fur spiking up. "Brackenstar, please, reconsider! We only have ten cats – two of which are apprentices! We have become weak from Leaf-fall, and I know that all the clans have, but we have less cats than ShadowClan!"

Brackenstar stepped forward past Rosepool's body and looked his medicine cat in the eye. "Then we will appear weak to ShadowClan and they will kill another cat!" He raised his head to his warriors. "Isn't that right ThunderClan? To you want another one of you to die? Do you want to appear like weak mice to the other clans? Do you?"

"No!" A pale silver and white tabby she-cat with darker gray paws and tail-tip with dark blue eyes, Ivypaw, shouted. Fallowpaw, her brother, followed with,

"We are ThunderClan!"

Stormfire and Duskfire took up the words first, yowling,

"ThunderClan!"

"ThunderClan! ThunderClan! ThunderClan!" Finally Lilypool, Echofall, and Serpenttail joined in, leaving only Jaypaw, Firstleaf, Sparrowtail, and the only other cat that wasn't there, Tawnyheart, not taking up the chant and encouraging the clan to attack ShadowClan. Firstleaf hissed at all of them, but it was no use. They were feeding off each-others emotions, already riled up and ready.

Firstleaf leapt back away from the mob of cats, Jaypaw right at her tail with Sparrowtail leaping away, a frown on his face and his eyes wide with worry.

"They're going to die!" Sparrowtail yelped, his voice almost unhearable as Brackenstar made another speech, encouraging his warriors to march off and attack. "Firstleaf! Jaypaw! You're medicine cats so you must be able to do someth-,"

"I can't!" Firstleaf snapped. "Look at them! We cannot stop them – our only hope now is for Tawnyheart to convince Brackenstar to back off…"

Jaypaw hadn't said anything, she was too shocked. She wanted to run away, to flee and never return. She wanted to run and go to ShadowClan, warn them, tell them, show them, anything, to prove that she was right. She couldn't let Jackalpaw die! She was sure about it now – her belly was getting rounder with his kits, and it was something that only Firstleaf probably noticed now, as her mentor glanced over at her wide-eyed shocked and scared apprentice.

She couldn't let Jackalpaw die! Jaypaw trembled with terror. Her kits! She almost had a medicine cat name and Jackalpaw would have his warrior name in a day or less!

Firstleaf's eyes narrowed slightly, her eyes traveling to her apprentice's form. She had suspected that Jaypaw had been going to ShadowClan, and had a relationship with a certain tom, but now as her eyes went to Jaypaw's belly, she knew she was right. It wasn't that much, but it was there. Firstleaf had known Jaypaw since the day she was born, and she knew that Jaypaw's belly was bigger – only slightly, but it was there.

Jaypaw had a ShadowClan's cat's kits.

Her ears went down, and she wrinkled her nose, a snarl erupting from her mouth. Jaypaw and Sparrowtail jumped at the horrific sound, but before Sparrowtail could ask, Firstleaf butted him away and grabbed her apprentices' scruff and dragged her into the medicine cat den. Jaypaw let out a surprised squeak, her tail being smashed under her as Firstleaf put her down in the medicine cat den, blocking the way out.

"You have kits! ShadowClan's! Who is the father?"

Jaypaw eyes widened in shock. Firstleaf had already saw just the slight change in her belly? She then narrowed her eyes, hissing at her mentor. She would protect her kits with her life. The clan would kill them, she was sure, if they found out.

Firstleaf hissed at her apprentice back, her back arching and her fur bristling. How could her apprentice betray her like this? She had helped with Jaypaw's and her littermates birth! How could StarClan allow this? Firstleaf stepped forward, and Jaypaw stepped back a few steps until her backside was touching the wall of the den, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"I will not tell you." Jaypaw hissed, baring her sharp canine teeth. "I will die to protect my kits!"

"You are a medicine cat Jaypaw! The gathering is tonight! We go to the moonpool – do you think the others won't notice? This is forbidden!" Firstleaf snapped back, her tail rising in anger and her ears straight up. "I love you like a mother, I have known you your whole life, Jaypaw, but now you go and do this? Brackenstar is already going to war with ShadowClan, but if you bear a ShadowClan's cats kits, what do you think he will do? Rosepool is dead, and he blames ShadowClan! What do you think he will do when he finds out the medicine cat apprentice has kits from ShadowClan in her belly? Soon, you won't be able to hide it anymore!"

Jaypaw's claws came out of her paws. "I'll run away with him then!"

Firstleaf's eyes widened in surprise and disbelief. She lashed her tail back and forth, trying to make her point get through to her apprentice, but it wasn't. Jaypaw was deeply in love with whoever this tom was, and she wasn't able to stop the kits from coming. She was angered by this. How could StarClan ever let this happen?

"Then you a no longer," Firstleaf shouted, anger and the feelings of being betrayed blinding her. "A medicine cat!"

**So yeah, I'm back with a new story and I decided to post it. At first, I didn't want to post it, but then when I got about 14 pages through I decided to post some of what I got since I sorta liked the plot…Uhm, I also want a different name for the title, if anyone wants to give one, that would just be **_**great**_**!**

** Also, the main characters in this story aren't really decided, it just skips…But I do know that Jaypaw, Jackalpaw and Blackpaw are going to stay, but I might add some more…Anywho~!**

** Review?**

** ~Wolfy (Formerly Broken Wolf ' Soul Spirit)**


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